ZURICH (Reuters) – Cartier-jewellery owner Richemont on Wednesday said it was “carefully monitoring” the situation after Farfetch’s founder said he was considering taking the online luxury retailer private.
Richemont, which also owns several Swiss watch brands, said it has no financial obligation to Farfetch and does not envisage lending or investing into the company.
“Richemont is carefully monitoring the situation, including reviewing its options in respect of its arrangements with Farfetch, announced on 24 August 2022, which remain subject to certain terms and outstanding conditions,” the company said.
Richemont agreed last year to sell a 47.5% stake in its Yoox Net-A-Porter (YNAP) fashion and accessories business to the U.S.-listed company, with an arrangement in place where Farfetch could also acquire the rest of YNAP.
Richemont’s brands, which also include watchmakers IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre, have been working on transferring their online businesses to Farfetch’s technology.
But financial troubles at Farfetch, whose share price has dropped steeply in recent months, have raised questions about the deal, which was recently cleared by European authorities, the last regulatory approval needed.
Richemont on Wednesday said neither its divisions, nor YNAP have currently adopted Farfetch’s platforms, and continued to operate via their own platforms.
(Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Miranda Murray)
